To Rise Again
by RandomHobo
Summary: At the age of six, an extreme prodigy arose to display himself to those in the Elemental Nations. One smarter than a Nara, one faster than the famous Maito, one who's jutsu repertoire matched that of Kakashi of the Sharingan. By the age of ten, he turned his headband in. GeniusNaruto! CoolNaruto! Pairing Undecided. Rating has been upped to 'M'
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: PLEASE READ THE UNDERLINED PORTION OF THE ENDNOTE A/N!**

 **I know I know! I shouldn't be writing new stories but I can't stop from writing this one! Originally, this story started out different but I read a story that was discontinued so I'll be incorporating elements of some of that story in this one! Chapters WILL be 4-5k.**

 **This story was inspired LOOSELY by a story called "** **But He's Just a Ramen Chef.** **" By viperflamer. Basically, the only inspiration from his story was that Naruto quit a shinobi and is now involved in something else... like Ramen lol.**

 **The pairing, at this point, is undecided. Will story deviate from Canon? Yes and no!**

 **There are few changes in the story that you'll notice. If you don't get or miss them, then I'll explain at the end of the chapter!**

 **Cover summary** : **At the age of nine, an extreme prodigy arose to show himself to those in the Elemental Nations. One smarter than a Nara, one faster than the famous Maito, one who's jutsu repertoire matched that of Kakashi of the Sharingan. By the age of ten, he turned his headband in.**

* * *

"Speech"

' _thought'_

" **Jutsu: in use** **"**

' _ **Kyuubi/Summon thought'**_

" **Kyuubi/Summon speech"**

* * *

 **Disclaimer: This is so stupid, I don't know who started this disclaimer... but damn it all to hell! I don't own anything and all rights in regards to the original story characters and image belongs to their respective owners.**

* * *

 **To Rise Again**

 **Chapter One: Fishcake**

* * *

Three jounins stood in front of a particular busy restaurant.

'RAMEN IN THE HIDDEN BOWL'

One jounin chuckles amusingly, "The 'Ramen in The Hidden Bowl'?, he couldn't come up with a better name?" the jounin's companions said nothing as they smiled all the way through the door.

In the midst of said busy restaurant in the red light district of Konoha, chatter and wild laughing could be heard. The establishment was enjoyed by many jounins and ANBU members. This wasn't to say that no one was barred from coming, it was just that only most jounins and ANBU came here. Occasionally, a chunin may tag along with a group of jounins or maybe even a jounin and his team of genins, but those were rare occasions.

A young golden haired twelve year-old child wipes the sweat off the crease of his forehead that percolated due to the heat of the kitchen. His ears perks as the chiming bells signified yet another group of customers has walked into his restaurant.

A chorus of identical voices welcomed the newcomers.

"Irashaimase (Welcome)!"

Naruto briefly peeks his head out to identify the customers that came in and smiles.

"YOSH! NOTHING LIKE THE HIDDEN BOWL'S RAMEN AFTER AN 'A' RANKED MISSION!" the voice spoke even louder, "DON'T YOU AGREE MY YOUTHFUL RIVAL?!"

"Huh? Did you say something?"

Maito Gai crashed unto the floor before springing back up with renewed vigor, "CURSE THAT HIP ATTITUDE OF YOURS!"

"Ugh, can you guys shut up… anyone got a light?"

Naruto washed his hands quickly and stepped out of the kitchen to the counter top.

The first to greet him out of the group of the three jounins was a man in his late twenties with white hair shooting straight up. The only part visible on his face was his right eye. The other eye was covered by his tilted hitai-ate and a face mask covered the bottom portion of his face. He wore the standard ANBU attire with a gray flak jacket and three armored plates that covered his forearms on top of black pants with a kunai holster on his right leg.

"Yo Naruto-kun!" Kakashi said cheerfully without looking up from a particular orange book.

Next up to greet the young blonde was a man with a bowl style hair cut clad in a green spandex jumpsuit with eyebrows that could be mistaken as a forest. His attire consisted of the standard Konoha flak jacket with orange striped leg warmers. His hitai-ate was weaved around his waist as a belt.

"GREETINGS NARUTO-KUN!" Gai exclaimed while posing in his patented 'Nice Guy' pose

Next up was a man who was currently fiddling around his pockets for a lighter. Said man was a tall individual with brown eyes, tanned skin, short black spikey hair, and a beard. Like his _youthful_ comrade, the man wore the standard Konoha shinobi uniform. One thing out of the ordinary, however, was a sash that was around his waist.

"Long time no see Naruto-kun!" Asuma made a pout that was unfit for such a masculine man, "Got a light!?" The Sandaime Hokage's son all but bemoaned.

Before Naruto could answer, one of the waiters came over and poked the Sarutobi with a lighter. Asuma gave the clone a bear hug before snatching the lighter greedily.

Except, the lighter was not a lighter at all. Rather, it was a water balloon under a **henge**.

"How the hell do you get this damn lighter to work? Is it broken? Or is it like an advanced one from sky-"

 _ **SPLAT!**_

Asuma glared at an amused Naruto before shifting his angry stare to the snickering waiter before delivering a punch to the waiter.

 _ **POOF!**_

The **Kage Bunshin (Shadow clone)** dispersed with a satisfying "pop" that resonated sweet revenge in Asuma's ear.

Naruto shook his head in an amused fashion before smiling at the regulars, "Hello Kakashi-sensei, Gai-sensei," he turned to Asuma, "That was me politely telling you that there's no smoking in this restaurant... even if it has been a while."

"That was _polite_?" The Sarutobi gaped.

Gai laughed exuberantly while Kakashi chuckled.

The child looked up at the familiar jounins, "The usual?"

Kakashi nodded with his eye on his book while Gai smiled teethily. Knowing their order, Naruto turned to the son of the Sandaime hokage, "And what about you Asuma-sensei?"

The jounin questioned gave a thoughtful pose, "Hmm I don't know what's good here... What do you recommend?"

Naruto didn't get the chance to answer cause as soon as the bearded jounin finished talking, suggestions were thrown left and right at him.

"Miso ramen!"

"Most definitely the Miso."

"MISO IS THE MOST YOUTHFUL!"

"Get the Miso ramen Asuma-sempai!"

Nearly every occupant in the restaurant screamed Miso ramen. Naruto held his hand suggestively at the other customers with a grin.

"You heard em."

Asuma sweat dropped. "I'll take the miso then… I guess."

Immediately whoops of encouragements and shouts of victories were heard at Asuma's order.

Naruto held a hand up and created two shadow clones. He sent both of them to the kitchen to take up the orders of Kakashi, Gai, and Asuma.

He took a seat next to Asuma.

"So how was the guardianship?"

"Oh man let me tell you! So get this, there was a freakin' coup…"

Naruto nodded every once in a while to show he was listening keenly to Asuma's tales of adventures in guarding the Daimyo. While Kakashi and Gai ate their delicious ramen, Asuma only just began eating his seeing as to how he wasn't able to eat while recanting his stories. However, a few moments later-

 _ **CRASH!**_

Asuma yelped in surprise as he looked at his downed comrade. Naruto sighed. This was the usual routine with Gai and Kakashi after one of their more physical taxing missions. They finish the mission, get ramen and sake, Gai gets drunk, passes out, Kakashi takes him home, and then Naruto closes shop up.

Kakashi slung Gai's arm over his shoulder and waved them a cheerful goodbye. Along with them, the rest of the shinobi customers left, but not before cheerfully thanking Naruto for the great food yet again. Naruto smiled and waved goodbye to all the leaving people and made a few **Kage Bunshins (shadow clones)** to help out with cleaning the rest of the store.

Asuma continued eating his amazing bowl of ramen. After taking another scrumptious bite, the Hokage's son noticed they were now alone except the shadow clones that were cleaning and closing up shop. Seeing a golden opportunity, the elder occupant directed a question of his own toward the blonde.

"Naruto, I have to ask, Why'd you quit?"

The young blonde found himself sighing yet again, "I assume you asked Kakashi and Gai? Perhaps even the Sandaime?"

The bearded jounin nodded, "I asked them both and yet they wouldn't tell me. Saying they it wasn't their place to tell me." He then went on to shamefully admitting, "I didn't talk to the Sandaime yet, seeing I only just got back and all… And y'know…"

Naruto nodded, knowing that the jounin was talking about the strained relationship the bearded jounin and the Sandaime had due to Asuma leaving for becoming one of the Guardians.

Seeing that the prodigy wasn't saying anything, Asuma continued, "Your track list for your missions was flawless. Every single mission was completed exceptionally and speedily. Within the year you entered ANBU, you completed fourty-nine A-ranked missions, twenty-two S-ranked missions, and one SS-ranked mission; tying with Kakashi's record in two years when it took him ten. You are a once in a millennium shinobi that could have gone so much farther. From the time I trained you when you were three, I knew you were going to be special." The man snorted, "Sort of wounds my pride that you mastered all of your affinities in such short amount of time when it took me a decade and a half to master my one wind affinity."

The boy responded with a small smile.

"My last mission," Naruto spoke softly, "The SS-ranked one..." The boy shook his head and at that moment, looked infinitely aged. "The completion for that mission sacrificed very much for so little."

Asuma looked hesitant, "I won't force you to tell but you know I'm here yeah?"

Naruto shot the man a grateful look, "Arigatou Asuma-sensei."

The jounin chuckled, "I haven't heard you call me that in a long time. Not since the beginning."

The blue eyed blonde hopped off the stool and dusted himself off.

"I'm a different person from back then."

The whiskered boy walked off back to the kitchen to finish the task of cleaning up and closing up shop.

Asuma stared at the retreating back of the child as he spoke quietly, "Gochisousama (Thank you for the meal)."

He left a hefty stack of money and walked out.

Immediately he noticed two people waiting for him. He dug out into his pockets and brought out a cig as one of them neared him.

"I thought you took Gai home?" Asuma asked nonchalantly.

The 'Mighty Green Beast Of Konoha' stood straight and sober, "I am okay Asuma! However, Naruto-kun is not. We were hoping you could bring him back to the forces."

Kakashi lit up Asuma's cigarette with a small **Katon** jutsu, "He most certainly has changed."

Asuma inhaled the poisonous substance and sighed, "He certainly has… mellowed out. He doesn't have his usual _confidence_ anymore."

"That's for sure."

"I for one, prefer his old youthful self. It was so much more youthful back then!"

Kakashi shrugged, "Maa, for better or for worse, we may never know."

Asuma sighed and threw the cigarette on the ground and squashed it underneath his foot, "Did my pops change the law regarding the," he looked around carefully to see if anyone was near, "Kyuubi no Kitsune? I know he was thinking about revealing it but…"

The **Sharingan** user of the group of jounins shook his head, "No, and thank kami he didn't. Could you imagine if Naruto was outed as the container of the Kyuubi? His treatment in the village at best would result in him being shunned and hissed at from every villager."

The hokage's son nodded, "I'm glad that my old man didn't tell the village or the shinobis about Naruto being a jinchuuriki, I remember talking to him about it before I left and he always seemed uncomfortable around the topic."

"Well… think of it this way, if you knew you had a giant chakra demon sealed inside you, how would _you_ feel?"

Asuma nodded again, "True. It's amazing he took it so well though. Being told when you barely turned four-"

Gai frowned and decided to intervene, "Come! It is most unyouthful for us to continue speaking on this matter. We should just be happy that Naruto is alive and not unyouthful! Let us go train until the glorious rise of the sun!"

As they were dragged by the Taijutsu specialist, none noticed the boy behind sliding down with his back against the surface of the door who had heard every word they spoke, unbeknownst to them.

He looked at his own hands with a bitter look.

' _It's better I'm not like my past self anymore.'_

* * *

 **X** **To Rise Again X**

 **Six Years Ago**

* * *

Koroto and his classmates that just passed the test were celebrating at a local BBQ restaurant when the newly instated Iruka-sensei announced that all of the passed students were to report to the academy first thing in the morning the day after.

Immediately everyone began speculation as to why they summoned the genins. It couldn't be because of team placement, that was a week and a half after the test to become genins.

So they ruled out team placement. After all, it hadn't even been a full day since they became official shinobis.

"Did someone cheat?!"

"Maybe they're re-ranking the students?"

Koroto scoffed, "Yeah right!" He then added rather haughtily, "Even if they do, I'm still gonna be the rookie of the year!"

The next day, Koroto and his fourteen classmates appeared at the given time in the classroom. They all sat along the closest row of the desks and pondered why Iruka-sensei hasn't yet said anything. Suddenly, Iruka stood at attention just as the door slid open.

The Sandaime Hokage stepped in with a tiny whiskered blonde boy in front of him. Excited shouts and whispers erupted at the presence of the village leader.

Eighteen-year old Iruka Umiino cleared his throat, "Class! Be quiet!" As they became silent, Iruka nodded and announced, "Today, you have been summoned for a special… _exam_ , if you will, for a special case."

The Sandaime hokage stepped up, "Thank you Iruka-kun, I will take over for now." He continued at Iruka's bow, "This is Uzumaki Naruto." The blonde boy stepped forward.

"Due to some unforeseen circumstances, he was not able to attend last week's genin exams."

The implications of the village leader's words suddenly dawned unto most of the students. Many students looked unsure as they shared a pensive look. One student, however, scoffed.

Koroto did not hide his thoughts often.

"With all due respect Hokage-sama, I don't think this child is fit to become a genin."

Before the Sandaime could retort, Naruto tugged at the hokage's sleeve. An unspoken message went between then Sarutobi sighed and took a seat. The child gazed impassively at the black-haired pre-teen that spoke.

"In order for me to be recognized as a genin, I am to show an aspect of this year's exam via a combat stimulation with one of the passing students. I would like to fight you."

The tone was simple yet it had a sense of condescending in it.

Koroto laughed haughtily, "Do you know who I am boy? I'm the rookie of year. Do you really want to fight me for your exam? After all," He stood up, "I _am_ an Uchiha."

Naruto stared at the charcoal eyed boy with nonchalant, "You'll lose. I am stronger than everyone here, excluding, the Hokage of course. However, that won't be for long. In seven years, I will topple the Jiji's power with my own by far."

Iruka stood up in anger at the boy's impudent statement more so at the fact that he insulted the village leader. The statement of the boy saying he was stronger than everyone... well, the scarred chunin didn't know if he himself was included so Iruka was unsure if he was insulted. However, before he could reprimand the blonde, the Sandaime held a discreet hand up.

A slightly amused glint twinkled in the Hokage's eyes. What the boy was saying was not a lie; Naruto was the strongest child ever at his age. His own family, the Shodaime and Nidaime, could not match the boy's skills or potential when they were a child.

Gasps were heard at the boy's words and the statement also elicited a jeering response from some of the more vocal and 'cool' kids that worshiped the reigning rookie of the year.

"Kick his ass Koroto!"

"Show him what being a shinobi means!"

"Don't let him get away with those words!"

Koroto Uchiha felt anger bubbling inside him, "Are you stupid?! The Hokage is the strongest shinobi in the village! You're a child and that's it! And as rookie of the year, I will show you exactly that. Prepare to be let down!"

Naruto shrugged his shoulders, "You know, it's sort of weird, when a child speaks the truth, people find it very hard that it is the truth the child speaks." The boy looked around the class before asking, "Would you like to spar privately?"

The Uchiha furrowed his brows, "And why the hell would I do that? Are you scared?"

Naruto rolled his eyes, "I was just suggesting a private spar so you do not dishonor your clan. After all, the Uchihas are a prideful bunch." The child proceeded to send the aggravated Uchiha a smirk, which only further served to anger him

Koroto slammed his desk, "We'll do this right now! And I'll show you the power of an Uchiha!"

Naruto yawned and gave the Uchiha a boring look, "Okay then?"

The Uchiha seethed as Iruka led them outside as Sarutobi tilted his hat to hide his amused smile.

* * *

 **X** **To Rise Again X**

* * *

"The rules are of the following: you are victorious if you knock your opponent out of the ring or if you force your opponent into submission. There are to be no fatal blows! And Ninjutsu along with Genjutsu is prohibited, understand?"

Both participants nodded.

"HAJIME!"

 **THUD!**

Naruto dusted himself off and held his fingers in a peace sign, "I win!"

Koroto angrily gathered himself from outside the ring and stomped towards the child, "Hey! What's the big idea?! Sensei said no Genjutsu or Ninjutsu!"

The boy ignored him, "Yo sensei, you gonna call the winner?"

Iruka looked a bit hesitant before he looked at the hokage who nodded at him.

"Winner: Uzumaki Naruto!"

Koroto exploded with rage, "WHAT THE HELL SENSEI?! HE CHEATED! THERE'S NO OTHER EXPLANATION FOR HOW HE WON!"

Naruto chuckled, "Sort of an oxymoron how an Uchiha can't _see_ that it was simply raw speed that kicked his ass. Y'know, oxymoron cause you guys got the best eyes or whatever."

Said Uchiha growled at him, "Shut up! You're lucky this isn't real life, otherwise I'd use my **Sharingan** and toast your ass!"

Naruto waved him off, "Please, you and your lackeys-" he pointed at the boys who jeered at him earlier in the class, "-still wouldn't stand a chance together. Evern with your little pink eye Jutsu."

The last comment brought out some giggles and chuckles from the crowd. Immediately the mentioned 'lackeys' stood up with obvious anger.

"Wanna prove that?!"

"You're just a cheating child!"

"Yeah! A cheater!"

Naruto looked at them each before looking at Iruka, "Okay."

Iruka responded with a confused look, "Okay? Uh… what?"

"Let's me fight them, no rules, everything goes." The boy then added thoughtfully, "And I won't kill them either."

Iruka was just about object when the Sandaime stopped him yet _again_. The Hokage spoke quietly, "I am interested in Naruto's abilities. This will be the first time he will be tested against ninjas even if they are only genins." The village leader leaned in and whispered something into the chunin's ear.

Iruka grimaced and set the new rules.

"Okay you four! You'll be heading into the forest over there. However, before you leave, you'll have five minutes to set whatever traps- including lethal ones." At these words, the four genins shared a look and grinned. Ignoring their evil looks, Iruka continued to explain, "Winner will be determined when the other party admits defeat or loses consciousness. Both parties _will_ be carefully monitored."

One of the students observing asked a question.

"Sensei! If their traps are set for fatality, will they also be able to use jutsus for lethality?"

Iruka glanced at the Hokage briefly before giving a resigned sigh, "Yes…"

The observers gasped with horror while the genins that were fighting shared another maliciously happy look. Worried looks were sent towards the boy who looked… _bored_ at best.

Iruka looked at the four genins and dismissed them to the forest. Before they left, the group of genins sent Naruto a glare promising he was going to lose.

The chunin gestured for Naruto to come close. The scarred man leaned in and brought the boy closer so no one could hear, "Unfortunately, there are more rules for you-"

"It's okay Iruka-sensei! I know, I'm not allowed to kill them right? At best, knock em out right?"

Iruka numbly nodded, how did he know?! The shock must have been obvious on his face because the boy rolled his eyes.

"I know Jiji. I think it's been five minutes so I'm gonna go ahead and start it off!" he cheerfully waved to everyone before performing a **Shunshin Jutsu (Body Flicker technique)**.

…

… … …

"Did… a five year old just use… a **Shunshin Jutsu (Body Flicker Technique)?** "

The Hokage simply chuckled in amusement.

* * *

 **X** **To Rise Again X**

* * *

Koroto swore as his classmates were strewn across the ground knocked out. It had happened so fast, he himself wasn't sure what exactly happened. One minute they were all in the trees waiting in their positions for an ambush and the next moment, they were suddenly on the ground.

Five year old Naruto smirked with his arms crossed on his chest. He looked down upon the fallen genin with a condescending look.

"You're not fit to be a genin brat."

The twelve year old growled at the child who was sticking to the wall; a skill that should not have been known by a fresh genin, much less a five year old.

"Don't call me a brat, I'm older than you!"

The blonde boy's face schooled itself into an impassive one.

The silent and eerily cool response made Koroto extremely uncomfortable. After what seemed like an eternity, the prodigy spoke.

"Uchiha Koroto, I know you activated your clan's Doujutsu. Use it, that the only way you can even hope to get a _fraction_ of a sliver to beat me."

Koroto suddenly stood up, "I didn't want to use it on a five year old but… **Sharingan (Copy Wheel Eye)!** " The twelve year old stared at the boy with haughtiness, "I hope you know you brought this on yourself!"

The whiskered blonde hopped off the tree and peered intently at the eyes of the Uchiha, "Interesting, your **Sharingan** is already at stage two."

"That's right, are you scared now? Are you regretting your decision of picking me?"

Naruto smiled, "No… I'm quite excited actually. Since I'm feeling generous and sympathetic today, i'm gonna give you an already bigger handicap." His smirk became even more pronounced as Koroto growled once more. The blonde boy looked at his nails as if everything around him held no interest for him.

Koroto snarled and growled at the five year old. Deciding he had enough, the Uchiha prepped a stance for a speedy lunge. Just as he was about to propel himself towards the child, the little bastard spoke.

"I will punch you in the face in five seconds. five…"

Koroto paused and suddenly broke out in laughter

"four..."

"Are you being serious?!" Koroto asked as he wiped a tear from laughing.

"Three…"

"Oh kami! You're being serious?! Ha!"

"Two…"

"As if I'd let you do anything like that, stupid bastard!"

"One…"

* * *

 **X** **To Rise Again X**

* * *

Naruto whistled jauntily as he dropped four unconscious bodies off in front of a gaping crowd of students plus Iruka. The only chunin in the vicinity blinked uncontrollably when suddenly, Naruto disappeared in a plume of smoke indicating that it was only a **Kage Bunshin (Shadow Clone)**.

The real Naruto appeared out of nowhere and yawned. He took the headband from the chunin and lazily lounged over to the Hokage as the children that waited whispered excitedly to each other. Iruka used some smelling salts to rejuvenate the knocked out twelve-year olds and sent everyone on their merry way.

Naruto turned to the Sandaime, "When can I become chunin?"

"All in due time Naruto-kun."

"Ugh, whatever, does my apprenticeship change?"

"At this point, no. However, if a change occurs I'll let you know."

"I'm off then jiji."

"Train hard."

Naruto nearly scoffed, "That's not necessary." The blonde then **S** **hunshined** **(Body Flickered)** to who knows where.

Iruka, witnessing their whole exchange, decided to voice a question.

"Permission to speak freely, Hokage-sama?"

"Permission denied."

"Ah… right, my apologies-"

"I was kidding Iruka-kun, please, continue."

"Why do you let him talk to you like that? Just who is he to be that disrespectful to you, one of the most respected and revered shinobis of all time?!" The scarred shinobi asked, glaring at the spot Naruto had disappeared from.

The village leader sent the young chunin a gentle smile, "He bears a special set of circumstances and shoulders a burden that no one else has to carry. Though this isn't an excuse, it provides a leeway for his attitude. Naruto-kun thankfully has the power and skills to back his ego."

Iruka shook his head, "Still, Hokage-sama, you should be respected by all."

"Interestingly enough, _that_ is the way he shows respect. There is no one besides me who he doesn't directly insults, except few individuals; and by that, I mean perhaps two." Sarutobi Hiruzen let out an amused snort, "That boy has too much power and he damn knows it too." The wizened man took a drag out of his pipe, "You know Iruka, you should get to know him when you get the chance, he is actually an extremely pleasant acquaintance to interact with."

The chunin looked thoughtful for several moments.

"Maybe…"

* * *

 **X** **To Rise Again X**

 **Four Months Later**

* * *

"So… room 204 is where it'll all start huh…"

Despite how many people walked by with obvious nervousness or anxiety, Today, to them, was probably a huge day for them in their shinobi careers. Naruto didn't really think about it so he simply whistled a jaunty tune as he waited for his teammates to show up. He had met them recently. Deciding that being paired with randoms would do him no good, he decided to… _research_ (Read: stalk) them. He had found out that one used to be apprenticed but her sensei was no longer in the village due to being a traitorous snake.

The other member of his team had the misfortune of having her teammates decimated on a mission that went south.

The reason it took so long for both genins to take the Chunin Exams was because one couldn't participate without a three-man team. Genin one couldn't enter because no one wanted join her team... simply because she had a stigma of her leader's traitorous legacy attached to her. It was most unfortunate that shinobis and civilians couldn't get over their prejudice.

The other genin simply couldn't get over the death of her teammates and it seemingly haunted her. However, instead of grieving, she spent all her time training. It was impressive to see records of her training for hours at a time. It was only recently had she decided to get back into missions and such.

Anko Mitarashi and Kurenai Yuuhi.

He had met them several weeks ago and deemed them worthy of being his teammates. They were strong, no doubt, not as strong as him in his _humble_ opinion, but they were strong enough. Both girls excelled at many things that would prove beneficial to each other if they could work cohesively as a team.

Anko excelled in stealth, assassination, tracking, interrogation, Ninjutsu and was proficient enough in Taijutsu to get by. However, she was brass and confident, much like himself, but he was better so he had every right to be as arrogant as he was.

So he believed.

Kurenai Yuuhi on the other hand, specialized in Genjutsu, stealth, assassination, she had minor capabilities in **Katon** jutsus and was average-chunin in terms of Taijutsu. She however, had a better head on her shoulder than Anko and that, in Naruto's opinion, made her even better to have as a teammate

When he met them, he noted immediately they were already well acquainted with each other. Naruto was desperately convince the Hokage to send him as a one man team to Chunins exam when the two girls he would be partnered with came in. And so, like that, good ol' Jiji placed them together.

For the sake of team chemistry, Naruto _suggested_ they do some missions together from D-ranks to C-ranks. This suggestion, however, didn't stem from the boy, but rather the Hokage forcing him to. Naruto was more than okay just to take the rein and completely obliterate whatever obstacle stood in the way between him and his promotion.

But no! The Hokage _insisted_ (Read: Beat up) that Naruto rethinks his decision. So they went on escort missions, elimination missions, all the way to mundane tasks of picking weed, gardening, and other annoying tasks. The Jiji talked about how he had to be at his best, for this Chunins Exam was one that deemed which village has maintained the most power.

It was a show of strength and endurance.

Ah well, It didn't matter. He's getting his promotion one way or another and no one is going to stop him. Then it would be the end of those unearthly chores Konoha called D-ranked 'missions'.

Naruto sensed two familiar chakras entering together. He turned his eyes to the right to see a sadistically grinning girl accompanied by an impassive-faced girl.

Oh goody, twelve-year old Anko and twelve-year old Kurenai has arrived!

* * *

 **X To Rise Again X**

* * *

 **A/N: Okay, changes that has been made from Canon thus far:**

 **Anko and Kurenai are younger by a ton. I originally had em pegged as older in this fic but decided to change it since Anko was a prodigy according to wiki and I know Kurenai isn't a pushover so I made em the same age... Granted, twelve year-old at chunin isn't too prodigal but they had their reasons. In addition to this, this opens them up for pairing options!**

 **CHANGES FROM CANON:**

 **Naruto is aware of the Kyuubi being sealed inside him.**

 **Naruto, was, at one point, in the ANBU.**

 **Kurenai and Anko are much younger.**

 **He runs a Ramen Shop**

* * *

 **And another sidenote: in the near future, i'll be posting a poll on which story to update next out of this, _The Genocide's Testimony_ _, To Rise Again,_ and _Team Uzumaki!_**

 **I'll be updating AMTRIM at its regular interval so the poll only affects which of those three stories of mine in which you guys determine is updated next... if that makes sense.**

 **To dumb it down, the poll ON MY PROFILE will have these three stories as its choices. whichever gets the most votes is the story that will be updated next. I have several chapters in advance done for EACH story, so! vote!**

 **P.S.S STILL NEED A BETA!**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Yes, took several months, i promise it's not gonna be like this all time. I'll start uploading more frequently in several weeks. I have a Highschool DXD crossover i'm working on; won't be done for awhile but yeah. In addition to that, i have a Boku hero no academia crossover AND Sword Art Online Crossover.**

 **Yeah, several big projects, somewhat.**

 **Anyways, this project was voted most on my poll despite the low amount of reviews... Very odd.**

* * *

"Speech"

' _thought'_

" **Jutsu: in use** **"**

' _ **Kyuubi/Summon thought'**_

" **Kyuubi/Summon speech"**

* * *

 **Disclaimer: I don't own anything but this Fanfic Story.**

* * *

 **To Rise Again**

 **Chapter Two: The Chunin Exams!**

* * *

He glanced at their attires interestingly. Anko wore a sleeveless fishnet mesh shirt, dark fishnet armbands that reached to her elbows, dark shorts and dark knee-length boots. Anko wore her hitai-ate as a forehead protector underneath her bangs. Kurenai wore a red shirt underneath an encapsulating piece of clothing that went around her neck and down to her mid-biceps. She also, like Anko, wore her hitai-ate as a forehead protector.

"Why are you staring so much- unless…" Anko leaned forward provocatively, "you like what you see gaki?!" the pre-teen teased.

Said _gaki_ rolled his eyes; this was a constant with the snake-using kunoichi. At first, it caught him off guard with how brass she acted towards him but eventually, he got used to it. The boy scoffed, "Please; you barely hit puberty, you don't have anything worth-"

"Awhh! Look at you Naru-chan!" the purple-haired pre-teen cooed as she patted his head, "looking like a real ninja now!"

Naruto himself wore dark-blue pants and a mesh shirt with a black jacket. His kunai holster was on his right thigh and his hitai-ate was hung loosely around his neck. It was a simple outfit on the outside but on the inside were many pockets that allowed for many items that'd prove useful.

Kurenai frowned, "Anko, quit teasing him, he's a genin too. Everyone deserves equal respect." She nodded towards Naruto, "Although, you do look more mature Naruto-san."

"Thank you Kurenai-san, as for you," he glared at the purple-haired genin, "I'm better than you so simmer down."

Anko simply laughed and smirked, "I've never seen you gone full out so nope! Until I see your actual skill sets, you're always going to be a child to me! Unless," she gave him a sadistic grin, "you wanna spar right now…"

Naruto met her smirk with his own, "Unfortunately, I wouldn't need to display my full powers against a peasant like you. Besides, I wouldn't want to disqualify the team by hospitalizing a member."

Anko scoffed, "Yeah, right! The only who would be hospitalized is you, you cocky-"

Kurenai sweat dropped, "As much as I'd like for you guys to argue, would you guys want to move it inside? This heat is unbearable…"

Naruto looked up and held a hand over his eyes to shield them from the blazing UV rays. He looked around at the buildings around him that seemed to be made of sandstone or some other sand-like sediment. He along with four other Konoha teams of chunin hopefuls, had just arrived at Kaze no Kuni (The Land of Wind.) the day before and man was it hot.

The unmerciful heat of the Land of Wind's desert was unforgiving as the heat ray reigned upon the Konoha genins. The prodigy pondered as to why Suna was hosting an international Chunins Exam at this time; many villages and countries were still recouping from the recent Third Great Ninja War.

Perhaps it was a sign of power? That Suna wanted to show that they, despite being one of the countries that was hit the hardest by the repercussions of war, were still well off despite what many thought-

"He started it!" Anko glared at Naruto childishly for several seconds before relenting with a fond smile, although their banter seemed a bit blunt and rude, everyone knew there wasn't a hint of malice in them.

Today was the first part of the exam and there were almost a _thousand_ genins participating from various villages. Again, it was strange that so many teams were sent. The blonde figured that the pride of all the villages that warred wanted everyone to know that they were just fine and dandy. Perhaps that's why the Sandaime wanted Naruto to be at his best.

' _Meh, not like it matters much. I'll breeze through this and take the jounin exams as soon as they roll around… Hm… Maybe I can talk jiji into letting me into ANBU.'_

Shinobi pride.

Such a deadly thing to have.

Naruto, again, did some _researching_ and found that Kirigakure was the main village that did not send any teams. Hell, even Iwagakure sent people… albeit was only one team, but still! Although he knew he should've left it alone, his curiosity was piqued and he was gonna bug the jiji back at home for some intel on why Kirigakure didn't send anyone.

Though, more than likely, there wasn't much that he could do anything-

"Hey brat! Are you coming or what?!" Anko shouted from the doorway as Kurenai gazed at him curiously with her red eyes.

The boy responded by walking towards them with another cheerful whistle. He entered the large building and the trio immediately began walking the extremely long corridor.

"Quit whistling brat! It's annoying!"

"I know you are but what am I?"

"I swear when we get done with these exams, I am going to _murder_ you."

"I know you are but what am i?"

"That doesn't even make sense you turd!"

"I know you are but what am I?"

"If you say that one more time I swear on kami I will end everything right-"

"Could you two behave? We're almost there and I don't wanna be targeted just cause you two are being idiots." Kurenai hissed.

Naruto hummed to himself, "Well, it probably doesn't matter if we're loud or not."

Anko and Kurenai stared at him incredulously, the red-eyed preteen spoke in almost berating tone, "You _do_ know if you rub people the wrong way, they tend to go after you…"

The child waved her off, "Nah, we'll be targeted no matter what… you'll see soon-"

"WHY WON'T THEY LET US IN!"

"LET US IN YOU ASSHOLES!"

"WE DON'T KNOW ANY PASSWORD!"

Naruto and his companions looked upon a small crowd made of eight teams around the door at the end of the corridor. Naruto briefly jumped up and noted that the door had a huge lock on it. Kurenai quickly applied genjutsu on her to make herself appear different and poked at a teen.

She rubbed his arms flirtatiously.

The boy turned angrily, "What the hell do you think you're doing budd- oh!" his snarl became a horrified expression with a moderate amount of blush at the beautiful and voluptuous teen he was seeing, "Hello! My name Santaku Ichiro and my family has a successful port down-"

The genjutsu'd Kurenai held a finger to his lip. "Could you," she blinked her eyelashes prettily, "tell me what's going on here?"

Those words seemed to have renewed the vigor the boy had moments ago before her intrusion,Immediately, the teen responded angrily, "There's some assholes on the other door that we need to get to! This is door 204 but they won't let us in without giving the proper password! I personally think that the people behind the door is another team that wants to cut off competition! Bunch of cowards if you ask me!" He looked at the door and roared out, "YOU FREAKING COWARDS! COME OUT SO I CAN HIT YA!" he realized then he had a pretty lady on his arms so he turned back to her-

Huh? Where did she go?

* * *

 **X To Rise Again X**

* * *

"Brat! Let me go! Where the hell are we going?! The test is back there!" Anko whispered harshly to the little blonde pulling her and Kurenai's sleeve with a surprising amount of strength. Kurenai simply blinked owlishly as she was dragged.

Naruto rolled his eyes, "The corridor splits off into a 'T' intersection. I can see some stairs right there. We need to go to room 204 so-"

"And that was back there you little shit!" Anko couldn't help but getting frustrated at the boy forcing her along. Social norms be damned, she cursed at anyone if they got on her bad side, including cute little blonde children.

As her friend growled out more protests, Kurenai's mind began to work.

' _Wait…room 204?!'_

"Be quiet!" Naruto hissed, "don't you know how architecture and infrastructure work? The first digit of each door number represents what floor they rest on. 204 Anko! 2-0-4! Two!" Naruto glared at the purple-headed kunoichi, "Do you get it?! _Two_! _Two_! _Two_! _TWO_ \- ow!"

Anko smacked the boy before huffing embarrassedly, "Okay ya brat! I get it!" She glared pointedly at him, "And why couldn't you say it back there?!"

Kurenai was the one who answered, "He didn't want competition, right Naruto-san?"

Naruto nodded before smirking, "Though, it was for you two, not me." His tone gained a boastful tint, "I would have wrecked havoc on them."

Kurenai frowned, the boy was smart but he was super arrogant. In _her_ eyes, it was as if the boy thought he was superior simply because he was a male. _'Ugh, typical boys! Every single one of them is so cocky.'_ She mentally snorted with disgust, ' _men.'_

On the other hand, Anko laughed boisterously and slapped the boy on his back multiple times, "Good job gaki! You're not too bad! Though, you should've let them contend, that way I could taste some blood…" she finished with a sense of perverse longing.

Naruto slightly shivered, though he'd never admit it, that purple head was sort of creepy.

"Meh, I just want to get home so I can collect money from the jiji."

Kurenai's curiosity was piqued, "Collect money? Jiji?"

"Yep, the Hokage bet I wouldn't become chunin before age seven so here I am!" he elaborated cheerfully.

The red-eyed teen raised a brow, "You placed a bet with our village leader? How and why did you– never mind, but you do know you have two years right? what's the rush?"

"Well… I have the skills now and I want money… so yeah." Naruto shrugged as he reached the first step of the stair. Immediately, he began jumping up the steps to the second floor. Kurenai and Anko looked at each other.

The raven-haired girl spoke first.

"He's cocky… that might spell trouble for us."

Anko grinned, "I dunno, I sort of like it."

The red-eyed teen shook her head, "Typical for a boy to behave that way…"

"Awh come on Nai-chan! That's why they call you the 'Ice Princess'! Don't be so cold and sexist!"

"Don't call me that here!"

"Which one? 'Nai-chan' or 'Ice Princess'? Actually, I like the sound of Ice prin-"

The voice of their third teammate called out to them.

"Uh, guys– I mean, girls? Could you guys come up here?"

Kurenai glared at her closest friend, "We'll finish this later!" she quickly went up the stairs with an amused Anko in tow. When the duo reached the second floor, they didn't ask why their squad member called them.

They _felt_ it.

 **Killing** **intent** and massive chakra signatures coming from room 204.

Naruto turned to them with a thoughtful expression, "Quick favor, just pretend you guys don't know me until the exam dictates that we need to continue as a team." He smiled with mischief, "Time to get targeted!"

Both girls paled as they watched the child carelessly walk to the huge door and slip in without a second glance back. They blinked owlishly before realizing what had happened. Immediately, the girls rushed forward to see what he was going to do to warrant attention unto them. Perhaps if they were fast enough, they could prevent the giant red target sign from being painted on their back.

They opened the door and saw their third teammate doing…

Nothing.

He was waiting patiently with his back turned to the crowd of people.

And yet…

All that intent was directed at him.

Kurenai, for once, lost her cool composure and rushed forward to grasp the little child's collar, "What did you do _child_!?" she nearly spat out the last word with disdain. How could this child want to make things more difficult for the team?

Spitefulness and anger bubbled in his core at the word 'child', this was only showed with Naruto's blue orbs hardening, "Do not accuse me of anything because _I_ didn't do anything." He continued darkly, "Now get your hand off me _little girl_ , or I will remove it for you." He flared half his **KI (Killing Intent)** at her and slapped her hand off him.

Kurenai's angry and accusing visage became a fearful shocked expression, not once in their whole interaction has he ever took that tone or imposed his **KI** onto her. She quickly retreated with a calm and cool expression.

Anko, on the other hand, did not. In fact, she calmly walked up to him and grabbed him. She quickly went out the door with Kurenai following.

"You idiot! Why the hell did you do that?!" Anko all but demanded.

"I told you two to pretend not to know me! but nooo! Ms. Feminist over there had to come over and ruin it. Why couldn't you guys just fucking listen?!"

"You had everyone training their **KI** on you!" Anko retorted.

The boy groaned, "And that was the plan. Don't you see? We are by far the youngest shinobi squad in terms of age. Literally, the next set of youngest squad is 16 and older. You two look pre-teen especially If you look close enough. However, if they had a quick glance at you, you could pass off as teens. I'm five, there is no way around that. The moment I stepped through that door, disbelief and indignant expressions were thrown my way." He shook his head, "There was no way to avoid it unless I took extreme measures for us a team. However, I wasn't going to waste time and energy on that."

The raven-haired teen pointed out, "That still doesn't explain how you got their **KI** on you."

The blonde gazed upward and let out an annoyed sigh, "I did _nothing_. I literally sat there waiting and ignored their jibes and goads. In that short amount of time between I entered and you guys barging in, they got angry enough at the fact that I was calm and casual despite the massive amount of **KI** and insults being directed at me."

Kurenai remained silent at this as Anko cried out, "But you didn't have to do that! we could have handled our own!"

"It would have happened anyways so I thought I'd help you guys out. But," he glanced at the rather shame-faced of Kurenai, "that was pointless. Especially since you two dragged me out the room with the huge scene."

"You could've told us!" Anko argued.

"I trusted you guys would get it. Obviously I was wrong. My hint of telling you two to pretend not knowing me wasn't good enough."

Kurenai spoke softly, "You didn't have to do that… we're a team. We should act as such."

Naruto didn't look at either of the girls, "I love Konoha and her people. I was increasing our chance at success. The one thing I perhaps should've done is told you my plan but I trusted you two to trust me. However, there may or may not be a variable that prevents you from trusting my words and actions."

The meaning behind the last jibe was not lost on Kurenai nor Anko.

He was a child and they didn't think he was capable.

The two females of the squad had nothing to say.

Finally, after a few awkward minutes, Naruto spoke, "I will wait inside the room again. At this point, all other squads most likely knows we are a squad so feel free to approach me." he, for the second time, walked without a second glance back.

After several long moments, Anko spoke.

"I hate it when he's right," the purple-haired girl muttered before going back to the room.

Her friend didn't say nothing and followed the blonde inside.

As Naruto expected, all eyes immediately darted to his re-entered presence. For a few seconds, he contemplated on whether or not he should retaliate their **KI** with his own but decided against it; he would save the good stuff for later.

"Hey kid, don't ya know this is a place for grown ups?"

Naruto glanced at the group of Suna nins that made their way over to him and found himself giving another annoyed sigh. He honestly didn't know what to do; he knew that if he didn't say anything, he'd probably be seen as an arrogant. If he responded, he'd still be seen as arrogant. Maybe he should act like a sacredy-cat… yeah, that'd probably be the best option-

"Too bad gaki could kick all your asses and then some!"

The blonde boy bemoaned in great agony, "Every time! They just keep on causing trouble- wait," He blinked before straightening up, "You know what?" he turned to _all_ persons in the room, "YO! FUCK EVERYONE! I'M GONNA DESTROY EVERYONE HERE!"

His loud and challenging announcement was followed by a loud encouraging and agreeing "Whoop!" from a certain snake-using, purple-headed genin.

Silence reigned upon the room.

Kurenai shook her head while face palming. She muttered out lowly, "Great… I'm stuck with two battle-craving idiots on my team…"

Laughter was heard throughout the room from the participants of the exams at the preposterous statement issued from the child. So caught up in their laughing, they never noticed the proctor that appeared.

Naruto noted that the woman was quite tall. If he had to estimate, she stood at a rough 5'5". Much like his purple-haired teammate, she also had pupiless brown eyes. Her hair color was incredibly odd; the portion of her hair that was a very dark green was tied in a bun with a senbon running through the bundle of hair. However, long strands of hairs with orange tips framed her sides all the way down to her chin. She wore the typical Suna jounin outfit; black uniform underneath a flack jacket that was a mix of dark-green and grey.

Instead of alerting the distracted chunin-hopefuls, the Suna Jounin stared at the boy intently as if she was trying to ascertain some information about him. the boy tilted his head with curious attitude. He met her gaze with a poker face.

After a few moments, she spoke quietly, so only people who were paying attention would hear.

"My name is Pakura and I will be your proctor for the first and second exam. The test begins now. Please gather your team and return here at dawn, if you are late, you have failed. Dismissed." She left the area via sand **Shunshin (Body Flicker)**.

Immediately, Naruto left the area; trusting his teammates to do the same. This action by the boy caused even more laughter and mocking words from the already entertained crowd of genins; no doubt thinking the boy was shamed into leaving.

They never did notice the few other squads of genins that left.

* * *

 **X To Rise Again X**

* * *

Lying down, Naruto stared at the ceiling of his hotel room in great thought.

It was interesting, that people would mock a child though he had his hitai-ate in an obvious spot that was in place for everyone to view. He supposed it wasn't their fault. If he too saw a child at an exam that was more than lethal, he would have scoffed too, probably.

' _But still! Shouldn't the Hitai-ate signify I'm capable? Kami I hate ignorant people. Ah well, I'll just utterly dominate this whole exam so I can just go home…'_ He sighed and started drifting to sleep when he heard-

 _ **Knock! Knock!**_

His thoughts interrupted by the sound of soft knocks upon his door, Naruto begrudgingly sat up. He briefly contemplated on pretending he didn't hear whoever was on the other side of the door before he heard another set of knocks.

 _ **Knock! Knock!**_

"Alright alright," Naruto grumbled, "Don't get your panties in a wad-" _**Knock!**_ "ALRIGHT!" Naruto roared, "I'M GETTING UP! CAN'T YOU GIVE ME A FEW SECONDS?!" the blonde waddled over to the door of his room, "AND WHO THE HELL WAKES OTHER PEOPLE UP AT THIS UNGODLY HOUR– Kurenai!?"

"Ah… Good evening Naruto-san " Kurenai frowned, "or would it be good morning? A bit confusing if one were to casually greet an acquaintance-"

Naruto slammed his head against the wall and found himself moaning out for what seemed like the umpteenth time, "What do you want Kurenai? If you're here to lecture me then can you save it for another time that's not at," he glanced at the clock, "three o'clock in the morning? Cause I'm sort of, and by 'Sort of', i mean really fucking tire-"

"No, no!" Kurenai quickly said, "I'm actually here to apologize about that-"

The child prodigy held a hand up, "It's fine. I understand your actions and why you did them. I just hope that in the future you would place more trust in me as your teammate and fellow Konoha comrade."

"Yes of course!" Kurenai exclaimed before reiterating, "Again, I just wanted to apologize once more for ever expressing doubt in any way to you…" she pursed her lips, "Though I am curious, the way you addressed me when I had uh, _held_ you suggested that you might be… sexist..." she glared at him, "Are you a sexist?"

' _Ah, when she grasped my collar earlier today and I called her a girl.'_ Naruto chuckled, "No, sorry, I read your profile and studied your psyche. I know you don't like sexist people so I said it to irk you!" He finished his words with a giant smile.

Kurenai blinked owlishly, "Oh… I suppose that's… fair." She bowed her head once more, "I truly am sorry for my actions and words tonight-"

"Kurenai. Please, and I mean this in the most nicest way possible, shut up and go to sleep." To avoid any offence he may have caused her, he continued, "As a child, I need my nap time."

Kurenai responded with an amused smile and bowed, "Thank you Naruto- _kun_."

Though he noticed the less formal suffix attached to his name, he didn't mind or say anything about it; wanting to obtain as much sleep as possible, he bowed back and closed the door. It was all in vain, for as soon as he hit the mattress with an audible _**thump**_ , another set of knocks were heard.

 _ **Knock! Knock!**_

Naruto let out another tortured moan, "Noo please Kami! Send the demon away, I beg of you-"

 _ **Knock! Knock!**_

The child prodigy once again crawled out of bed with a growl, "Kurenai, if it's you again…" wrapped snugly in his blanket, he made his way over to the door muttering out multitudes of curses that a child shouldn't have known. He opened the door and glared into instead of the red eyes of a certain Yuuhi, pupiless brown eyes of a certain snake-using kunoichi.

After several long intensive moments of a staring contest, Naruto finally spoke.

"Anko."

"Hi!"

She said nothing else.

…

"What do you want?"

"To talk?"

"Okay… so?"

Anko simply bounced on her tiptoes as an annoyed Naruto waited with an impatient face. After several more moments of silence, the boy spoke again.

"Are you going to talk?"

"When I'm ready."

"I'm gonna sleep then." Naruto made to close the door but found it jammed by a foot of his late-night company. "What," he growled as he tried forcing the door shut repeatedly no success, "Are you doing?!"

"I'm ready!"

He reluctantly let the door open and protested as she pushed her way inside.

"Remind me why we have separate rooms?"

"Because," Naruto grunted as he walked back to his bed, "Gender."

"But you're five- ah nevermind! Anyways. Um, I'm sorry, about, y-know…"

"Did Kurenai put you up to this?"

Anko responded with her brows furrowed and a confused face; indicating that her red-eyed friend wasn't involved with the situation.

Naruto sighed, "Well I accept your apology and I do mean it. I'm just tired as hell right now so if you could go back to yours and Kurenai's room… that'd be great-"

"A-Actually… I also had a f-favor to ask of you…" Anko blushed as she kicked at the ground shamefully, "I'm s-scared of the l-lightning so…" she looked at him with pleading eyes, "Can I stay the night with you?"

For once, Naruto found himself dumbfounded. He was gaping like a fish and remained speechless.

She stepped forward and asked again with pleading eyes, "Please?"

Naruto himself took a step backwards with a slight blush on his face. He finally managed to speak, though it was more of an indignant splutter.

"W-What! W-W-Why can't you s-sleep with K-Kurenai! Y-you g-girls have the same r-room! And be-besides! I'm a g-guy!" he took a deep breath and gathered his next words, "It'd be improper if we were to sleep-"

His reasoning was cut off by her giggling.

"Y-you actually t-thought!" She gasped from laughing and speaking at the same time, "Y-You actually thought I was coming on to you?!" She bent over and held her stomach as she began another laughing fit.

Naruto pouted.

"Are you stupid? First of all, There isn't any thunder around this country-"

"I know that!" Naruto interrupted with a flush on his cheeks.

She waved him off, "And besides! You're _five_! Maybe six, I don't know but the point stands, you're a _kid_!"

Naruto angrily dragged her out the hallway and shut the door in her face. He would remember this for years to come. He _will_ extract his revenge one day…

"A hundred years too young gaki!" Came Anko's chortle as she walked away.

The boy let out a "Harrumph!" before getting back to his bed and whispering a vow.

"You'll pay for that Mitarashi Anko!"

Pausing mid-laughter as a shiver rushed her spine, Anko paused. She dismissed it as nothing as her mind amusingly drifted onto a certain blonde whiskered child.

* * *

 **X To Rise Again X**

* * *

Out of the 312 teams, only thirty-two teams remained.

Out of 936 genins, only ninety-six remained.

More than likely, the dumbasses that failed were the ones who were laughing and mocking him.

Naruto smirked, _'That's what they get.'_

They stood in a large oval room. There were long circular desks that circled around the center. Like Konoha's shinobi academy, there were multiple elongated desks that increased in length as you went up in steps.

Naruto briefly recalled it being similar to a civilian higher educational school.

He frowned, _'What did they call it? University? College?'_

Regardless, the room was rather empty considering that only a fraction of the applicants for the Exams remained. Out of the corner of his eyes, he examined the seemingly more dangerous groups of genin.

The lone group of genins from Iwagakure struck him as odd. A teen that looked around to be seventeen-years old with slanted blue eyes. Said teen had long blonde hair which was drawn into a half ponytail while the rest of hair hung down freely with long strand of bang covering his left eye. He wore a bluish-gray kimono jacket. Underneath his jacket was a mesh shirt with dark green khaki pants that stopped above his ankles. His footwear was a pair of shinobi sandals.

Accompanying him were two other shinobis that seemed oddly familiar. Not in terms of appearance but… Naruto tilted his head curiously. He couldn't explain it but it there was a sense of slight familiarity with them; camaraderie even. This feeling was only reinforced when the both shinobis stared back at him curiously.

The first man was someone with a reddish-orange hair of average height standing at 5'10". The man also had a same colored mustache and beard which was tapered off. His hitai-ate was embedded into his oddly shaped headpiece consisting of three pointed crown-like ridge. Connected to his headpiece was a strip of armor that ran across his cheeks and along the bridge of his nose. His attire was that of a long-sleeved violet shirt and pants with a brown leather chest plate with armored lapels falling to his side.

The other man easily one of the most tallest man Naruto had seen in his short life. The 7'6" man was clad in a red heavy-set armor that was covered partially by a black gi. His armor seemingly extended to his face, covering the lower half of it similar to Kakashi. Naruto's sharp eye caught the extra bulkiness in certain areas signifying that the armor served other functions than to just protect. He wore his village hitai-ate as a forehead protector with a red kasa (cone-straw hat).

Naruto reached out his senses and widened his eyes.

' _B-but w-why are they here?! They're-'_

A loud and booming laughter was heard in his mind, effectively cutting off his thoughts.

" **So they're here… Four and Five."**

* * *

 **X To Rise Again X**

* * *

 **A/N: Okay, changes that has been made from Canon thus far:**

 **Pakura is alive.**

 **Though it never specified how relations between villages were between their people, I know that Suna and Iwa dislike each other so I made it so the villages were amicable enough to send shinobis to foreign soil. Just imagine that villages didn't decimate each other as much as they did EXCEPT Konoha and Iwa.**

 **And, obviously, Suna is hosting a Chunins Exam.**

 **Kyuubi spoke at the end, you can assume Naruto and Kyuubi interacted before.**

 **Uh, please reviews? 6 reviews is sort of depressing... somewhat... lol.**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: TWO NEW CROSSOVERS STORIES PUBLISHED NARUTOXRWBY** **AND** **NARUTOXHIGHSCHOOL DXD**

 **Okay, im gonna be honest, this chapter may or may not be confusing but please bear with it and asks any question via PM or review. Preferably the latter so I can answer it for everyone.** **Please read the A/N at the end!**

 **Also, some contents of the exams is un-orginal, and I'm sorry for that BUT I tried making them my own style! I would give credit from which fanfics inspired this exam but I don't remember lol.**

 **By the way,**

 **Also, PLEASE REVIEW, come on y'all.. Nearly 200 followers and I can't even get twenty to thirty reviews?! Man that's incredibly disheartening…**

* * *

"Speech"

' _thought'_

" **Jutsu: in use** **"**

' _ **Kyuubi/Summon thought'**_

" **Kyuubi/Summon speech"**

* * *

 **Disclaimer: I don't own anything but this story.**

* * *

 **To Rise Again**

 **Chapter Three: Balance of Power**

* * *

Naruto kept a neutral yet tired façade as he leaned over to his teammates and yawned before muttering accusingly to them, "I'm going to catch more shut-eye since _some_ people," he gave Anko and Kurenai a narrowed gaze, "kept me up. Wake me when the exam starts?" At their blushing and amused nod, he leaned back and closed his eyes.

He of course didn't actually need to sleep, yet it was an easy excuse to close his eyes and enter his mindscape.

Opening his eyes, he stared into the eyes of the most dangerous tailed beasts.

The Kyuubi no Kitsune.

"Sup motherfu-"

" **UZUMAKI! DON'T YOU DARE TAKE THAT TONE WITH ME YOU INSOLENT BRAT!** " The Kyuubi roared.

The boy chuckled at the giant chakra entity's angry roar before smiling softly, "How much longer are you going to act like that?"

" **FOR HOWEVER LONG I'M STUCK IN HERE FOR YOU MAGGOT!"** The Kyuubi bellowed.

Naruto rolled his eyes. "Anyways, you shouldn't be angry so much Kyuubi, you know that it'll mess with my zen and if it messes with my zen, I can't be a productive and strong container for you; in turn, that means that you'd be looked down upon and may or may not have your tails taken away."

The giant malevolent filled being growled but otherwise settled down. The Kyuubi ended up grumbling, **"That is the only reason I ever teach you anything."**

Naruto nodded. "First of all, the only thing you taught me was the **Kage Bunshin No Jutsu** … and the coil thingy, and I truly do thank you for that, I really do, but I need information on the Four-Tails and Five-Tails. What are their capabilities and power? And why do you think they're here, any theories?"

The great beast scoffed. **"Please, I taught you how to handle a portion of my power-"**

"-I forgot about that actually and I again thank you for that…"

The Kyuubi ignored his interruption, **"-and I also provide you with my power and knowledge. Your last question is stupid. Listen boy, I've been stuck inside a bodies for a century and some decades. Save that little spree I went on about five years ago, I haven't stepped outside at all. Regardless, how in the realms of nine hell would I know what other mortals or bijuu are up to?"**

Naruto sighed. "I wasn't asking anybody if they knew the reason they were here, I was asking on theories as to why they would be here." He continued an overly gracious and mocking tone, "Do you, in your great wisdom and knowledge, know any reason as to why they would be here that I, a five year old boy wouldn't know?"

The Kyuubi gave an amused smirk. **"Your banter is getting better boy."** As the boy smiled cheekily, the smirk of the beast turned into a glare, **"Though for you being insolent, I will not share any theories I think as to why they're here."**

Naruto pouted before groaning out, "Fine… but they're power and capabilities?"

" **Do you recall everything I've told you about my sisters and brethrens?"**

"Hmm… You told me last year that Tailed Beasts' powers could be shifted; that the amount of tails one beast had could be changed by the utter defeat of another tailed beast. Of the beasts, tails signify their position in terms of power and skills."

The Kyuubi stared at him to continue.

Naruto obliged.

"You again told me, that tails can only be absorbed whentailed beasts are in their raw and pure form; meaning that you would have to come out the seal fully in order for your tails to be absorbed from another beast."

The Fox nodded, satisfied with his answer.

Naruto blinked, questions forming now that he thought about the bijuu's tail and power, "I don't see why you're worried though… I don't see how you'd come out the seal unless I wanted you to- which, I wouldn't, ever." He continued, "But, if I did, I wouldn't throw you into a situation that could end up having your power absorbed… so why must you need me be strong?"

The Kyuubi stared with a giant brow raised, **"Ningen, are you suggesting I stop training you?"**

"No!" Naruto quickly reiterated, "No, just briefly wondering is all."

" **I supposed you earned the right to know,"** The Kyuubi grunted, **"Though these situation are rare, when they happen, it usually happens like this. When jinchuurikis nearing the end of a battle that is ending unfavorably to them , they end up using desperate measures. More often than not, they, subconsciously or consciously, release their beast temporarily to turn the tide. Now, this is completely different from using the power of ours in tandem. It is more like opening a cage to a rabid beast with depleted energy."**

The Kyuubi closed its eyes and continued speaking.

" **When a jinchuuriki who uses its bijuu's power without thought or consent of us in a battle, it affects us more than ningens know. Contrary to belief, we do not have** _ **unlimited**_ **chakra, but a great amount. This, again, is signified by the amount of tails we have. Using a tailed beast's chakra without the beast's permission is still a great boon since it enhances your physical and spiritual attributes exponentially but it could be an even greater boon if one had the beast's permission."**

"Hm… so you're saying that I'd be stronger if I had your permission in using your chakra rather than forcefully taking it?"

" **Exactly."** The great beast's tails waved around lazily.

"Can I have your permission then -"

" **You've had it since last year fool.** "

The blonde's eyes widened, he actually wasn't aware that he had been using the Kyuubi's chakra permissively from the great beast itself-

" **Back to the original matter, say the jinchuuriki was losing despite giving all of his or her effort, as a last ditch effort, he summons the tailed beast he contained to fight for him or herself. If that jinchuuriki idiotically wasted both chakra supplies, the temporary physical presence of a beast would be a moot point for the most part."**

"Man that's a lot of words but I _think_ I get it…"

The giant fox exhaled annoyingly, **"Basically if you fought and used my chakra up and was forced to consciously or** _ **unconsciously**_ **bring out my presence, I'd be more like a kitten than a giant demon fox. I would be so weak, even a slug would overpower me. If they manage to forcibly remove me whilst you were unconscious or fatigued, they would more than likely take advantage of me."**

The prodigy nodded again, "So why did you give me permission? Why do you occasionally train me?"

" **Ningen, think about it, if the other jinchuurikis and bijuus formed a relationship in which they both benefited, they would swoop in on jinchuurikis and try to force the tailed beast for the taking."** The chakra entity opened one eyes and stared lazily at the boy, **"Do you now see why I train you occasionally?"**

Naruto nodded, "Ah, okay, I understand… but if that's the case, how come you don't train me more in using your chakra? At the moment, I can only use it to enhance my attributes barely. It's a great boost but it pales in comparison as to what I could do if I had _all_ of your chakra-"

The Kyuubi suddenly roared, **"YOU IMPUDENT INSECT, YOU WILL NEVER HAVE ALL OF MY POWER. DO NOT BE SO ARROGANT AS TO THINK YOU'D EVEN HAVE ACCESS TO HALF MY POWER SHOULD I CONTINUE TRAINING YOU!"**

Naruto fell on his backside at the ferocity of the beast and shakily stood back up. He bowed slightly with an apology, "Sorry… I just… want to be stronger…"

The Kyuubi exhaled a puff of smoke before lying back down, **"See that you never repeat that mistake again. As to why I don't train you more often? You're a child. Your body isn't equipped to handle my powers."**

The child scowled at the mention of him being a child. It was like as if being five years old was a restraint against his progress of powers and social standing. What did he have to do to prove he wasn't a child, but a powerful shinobi in which likes the world has ever seen?

The Kyuubi, aware of the boy's thoughts, snorted. **"Calm yourself child, you are strong and we can revisit the training anew when you reach the appropriate age… perhaps you can use more at age seven or eight. You** _ **will**_ **be the strongest. As my container, there is and will never be no other option. See that you do not fail me."**

Proud at the fact that one of the most powerful being complimenting his strength, Naruto's ego rose several notches more so than the high level it was already on. The boy all but forgot about his childish problem, pun intended.

" **Do not become arrogant boy, else it will be the downfall of you one day…"**

The boy waved the beast off, "Anyways, abilities of Four and Five?"

" **Though I don't know the skillset of the jinchuuriki themselves, the four-tailed beast has the ability to manipulate lava and the Five-Tails has the ability to use steam."**

Naruto scoffed. "Steam? The hell is that going to do? Make a sauna?"

" **Do not take their abilities lightly fool. They are the four tails and five tails for a reason. Coupled with their shinobi, they are more than likely enough to kill you many times over."**

The boy frowned. "So what should I do? I know I'm strong but I'm only five, what _can_ I do?"

" **Avoid them for now, don't attract any more attention to yourself, especially from the Four-tails and Five-tails. And above all, do** _ **not**_ **use any of my chakra. I don't want them figuring out you're a jinchuuriki if they don't already know."**

"Couldn't they sense us?"

" **No, and you can thank your seal for that."**

"Makes sense; thanks for the info Cubes!"

The Kyuubi snarled, **"Address me properly you ignorant pest or suffer from never acquiring a beneficial-"**

"Oh. looks like I'm being pulled out! Thanks for the lessons Mr. Nine!"

Before the Kyuubi no Kitsune could roar, Naruto was pulled out of the mindscape… but not before he flashed the giant fox a victorious peace sign.

The giant chakra-beast snorted as he rested his massive head on his forepaws.

' _ **Foolish child.'**_

* * *

 **To Rise Again**

* * *

After several minutes of waiting for the proctor to appear, a purple-haired Konoha genin growled in frustration, "Where the hell is she!" Anko looked around for an answer from someone– anyone, really, would do. Seeing that no one, not even her red-eyed best friend, was answering her question, she slumped back into her seat and sulked silently.

She kept to herself for as long as she could before she cracked. She brought out a marker from god knows where to prank the sleeping boy but then stopped as she noticed how eerily still the boy was sitting. Anko peered closely at the blonde, honestly curious to see if the boy had actually fallen asleep.

She brought her face closer and narrowed her gaze at the boy when her best friend spoke.

"Anko! What the hell are you doing?!"

"Shh! You'll wake him up!"

Suddenly, pupilless brown eyes met azure ones.

"I believe this is considered pedophilia Anko-san."

Kurenai giggled as Anko gained an appalled and flustered look.

"Y-You I-Idiot!"

Naruto smirked, "Looks like this victory is mine Anko- _chan_."

Just as she was about to retort, Naruto shushed her, "Hush, the proctor is coming."

Anko waited several moments to see if his statement were to ring true, however, when no one appeared, she turned on him to verbalize her wrath, "Ha! You think I'd fall for that-"

"Konoha genin, silence yourself or remove yourself from the exams."

Anko immediately closed her trap as she recognized the Suna Jounin's voice and went back to sulking in her seat as Naruto and Kurenai shared a look before snickering to themselves. Anko glared at them and whispered, " _I'll get you both for this!"_

Pakura walked towards the middle of the class and cleared her throat.

"The second part of this exam will test both individual and team aspect in resourcefulness, endurance, and mental capabilities." She looked around, "are there any questions?"

A random non-descript genin from a small village spoke up.

"Why are we beginning with the second part of the exam? Shouldn't we begin with the first part?"

She met the pondering question coolly, "I began the first part of the exam yesterday; those who paid attention are here and those who were too busy being ignorant were sent home."

The same genin who had spoken earlier voice another question, "Isn't there too many examinees for just a three part exam?"

Pakura glared at the genin who asked the question and answered coldly. "As a shinobi, one should never assume."

Naruto frowned, that answer was too cryptic to provide any form of answer. If anything it only opened up more questions.

Not really knowing how to respond, the genin who asked the question sputtere out, "U-uh, o-okay! S-s-sorry ma'am!"

In response, the proctor simply nodded in response. Pakura's gaze circled around, "Are there any more questions?" No one dared asking another question in fear of the blunt response that she'd no doubt embarrass them with. Once again, the proctor nodded, only this time in affirmation, and continued speaking.

"For the second part of the exam, all teams will volunteer one member for the task of an extraction. Each team will be given a scroll for safekeeping; it is up to your squad to safeguard it. As such, you will also be given a member from another team. Your goal is to obtain the scroll from the captive's team. In essence, it is an espionage mission, search and rescue, and information extraction all in a timed manner mixed together."

Nervous murmurs and nods were what she received. Seeing that people were still with her briefing, she continued, "You will be assigned a location privy to your team only. You will be sent to an assigned bunker _around_ the village, after an hour, you will send one member to meet here. You have 72 hours to extract the information needed for your teammate and scroll once you receive your hostage. However, in the last hour, you have permission to use lethal force to obtain the information from your captive."

"If you successfully obtain the information on the other team's location, you are to obtain the scroll of the other team; lethal force will be allowed seeing as to how one team will not openly give you the scroll voluntarily."

Just as the implications of the last sentence washed over everyone into shock, the proctor delivered more conflicting information.

"However, you do not _need_ your teammate alive to advance into the next part of the exam. A Suna Escort will escort you to your bunker now, if you are unable to decide who will be held hostage in an hour, your team has failed and will be sent home. Return here for the next part of the exams if you succeed in your objective. Dismissed."

Naruto nodded in approval, the last bit of information was to serve as team cancer to the squad; the information would surely cause strife and dissent amongst the genins and their comrades. No one would want to sacrifice themselves as the captive. To be honest, a team could leave their teammate to die, set up traps for when the opposing team came, kill the other team, take the scroll and go.

The blonde child looked around and noted with idle amusement that some teams were arguing already. Tension was sky high already and-

A chunin came up to Naruto and co.

"You are group seven, follow me."

* * *

 **To Rise Again**

* * *

They were taken outside of the village into the scorching dunes of sands into an area that was littered with thousands of bunkers. The bunkers were spaced about a hundred feet from each other.

Naruto, Anko, and Kurenai were placed in bunker 144.

The bunker was actually more spacious than the outer appearance led one to believe. The interior of the bunker was enough to fit several dozen people. The ceiling stretched about fifteen feet and there was a large bathroom that had a tiled shower room attached to it. There were also several bundles of sleeping bags stuffed in the corner that seems they haven't been touched in centuries. There were also some long metal dining tables and several other short tables.

Naruto also noted that the bunker also contained many compartments that were locked which was somewhat strange to him. Perhaps only a Suna resident knew how to unlock it… After all, they were foreign shinobis were on foreign soil…

' _Ah, right, the Chunins Exam, where were we at? Oh, right, picking the volunteer! I better volunteer first!'_

The blonde child spoke up with his thoughts in mind.

"I volunteer myself."

Immediately, it was met with protests from both girls.

Kurenai interjected first, "I think I should be the one to go. With Genjutsu, I could-"

Anko stood up, "Hell no! I can hold out the longest here! I've been working T&I for the past two years so I'm totally the best choice for this!"

Naruto sighed as they argued for the majority of an hour. He cupped his chin with his hand and drummed his fingers on his cheeks all the while disinterestedly staring at the arguing pair.

"Please have your hostage volunteer ready in one minute."

The voice of a Suna jounin came from behind the closed door seemed to only serve a greater frenzy between the two female Konoha genins in their argument.

"It makes no sense! I can hold out longer-"

"Okay," Naruto suddenly announced, "How about we play a quick game of Jan-Ken-Po (Rock-paper-scissors) between you two to decide who goes." He quickly added, "Best two out of three, good?"

Kurenai and Anko shared a stubborn look with each other before screaming out an agreement. They glared at each other before shouting in unison.

"Jan-Ken-Po!"

Draw.

"Jan-Ken-Po!"

Draw.

Rock-paper-scissors, a game where it was usually based off probability. For shinobis however, the game based off of different factors. These factors are speed, quickness, reaction time, and observational prowess.

If skilled enough, one could predict the outcome of their opponents choice if the very minute tell-tale signs appeared through muscle twitches, finger movement, and various other things. If the participants were equally skilled, the game would very much last awhile.

Naruto knew this.

"Jan-Ken-Po!"

Draw.

"Jan-Ken-Po!"

"HA! SUCK IT NAI-CHAN! ROCK BEATS PAPER, OR DID YOU FORGET!?" Anko taunted her cardinal-eyed friend.

"Again." Kurenai glared.

"Fine! Bring it on! Let's seal the deal fast!" Both genins resumed their border-line battle stance.

"Jan-Ken-Po!"

Draw.

"Jan-Ken-Po!"

Anko suddenly screamed out in victory with a triumphant smile on her face, "You see that gaki?! That's how you… gaki?" she looked around for any signs of a blonde boy with cerulean eyes, "NAI-CHAN! WHERE'S GAKI?!"

* * *

 **To Rise Again**

* * *

Naruto was eye-smiling as he whistled a jaunty tune. Currently, they, him and the Suna shinobi, were currently walking alongside each other back towards the civilian university.

The Suna shinobi eyed the blonde boy cautiously and asked for the tenth time, "Listen kid, you seem like a good person but are you sure your squad sent _you_? I would've figured you guys sending that girl with the purple hair…"

Naruto simply bobbled his head to his steps, "Yep! I wanted to give it a shot! I'm pretty strong!"

The tall man snorted, "Oh I'm sure you have so much power as a five year-old."

"What's your name?"

"Tch, don't you know it's respectable to give your own name first? Eh, I suppose fine, since you're a child and I already know yours." The man adjusted his Suna headpiece, "Jounin Renji at your service-"

"Renji-san, want to make a bet? I wager that my team will be the first to complete this stage of the exam."

"Oh? and what's in it for me?"

Naruto thought for a moment, "I don't know, what do you want-"

"Ha!" The jounin laughed boisterously, "You know kid, you ain't half bad! I usually hate other village shinobis but you! You're definitely one of a kind! Unfortunately, I don't gamble so maybe one day, if we're all alive, we grab a drink in a decade!"

Naruto smirked, "Fine, just watch Renji-san, I'm gonna make this exam my bitch."

Renji whistled, "Man if I had a son with your language… best believe that tush would be red from the spanking he'd be getting!"

"Psh! As if you could land a hit on me!"

The jounin stopped walking and stared at the form of the child, "You got some spunk on you. I can't wait for you to get a bit older, we most definitely will fight when the day comes."

Naruto nodded with the same smirk on his face, "Oh most definitely Renji- _chan_! But since we're here, I'm gonna go play hostage for a bit! Ja ne!" he waved a quick goodbye to the now obviously irked Renji.

However, his senses were rapidly dulling as soon as he entered the room.

Sleeping gas.

' _Kuso! I let my guard down cause I was bantering with Renji… Fuck! Kuruma wanna be a pal and-'_

' _ **Shut up ningen, I already finished.'**_

' _Hey thanks big boy_ _!_ _'_

 **' _... you... STUPID LITTLE-'_**

Naruto cut off his connection with the fox.

Now, time to implement his improvised plan.

* * *

 **To Rise Again**

* * *

The scarlet-eyed genin slapped herself for her idiocy, "Damnit! He distracted us while he left with the Suna shinobi, that's the most likely scenario!" She shook her head in disbelief, "I can't believe I fell for that! You, I understand but me!? I wouldn't have thought the kid would play on our impatient frustrations to play a game." She muttered to herself. "Truly, he is as prodigal as they say he is…"

While they waited for their hostage, Anko had found the scroll in her coat courtesy of a certain blonde child if the little chibi-drawing of a blonde child holding out a victory sign attached to the scroll was anything to go by.

Anko held a finger to her chin, "Hmm, maybe they mean he's a prodigy by his intelligence and not power- wait a minute! Did you just call me stupid?!"

Kurenai sighed and was just about to retort with a resound "Yes!" but three loud taps were heard before she could speak.

 _ **KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!**_

"Group Seven; Package is here, the exam has commenced, you will be monitored!"

Anko and Kurenai ran to the front door and opened it to hear two distinct sounds of **Shunshin** wisping away the two shinobis who had dropped off the _package_. The saw a lifeless sleeping bag at the entrance of their door and Anko kicked at it.

"Anko!" Kurenai protested.

"What!?" Anko defended her blunt actions, "I was just making sure the person was knocked out!"

The snake-using genin peered at the contents of the package and grinned.

"Lucky us Nai-chan! We got a guy! It's so much easier to extract info from them!" She grabbed the edge of the sleeping bag with one hand and grabbed her friend with her other free hand to excitedly drag her back into the bunker, "Come on Nai-chan! We need to prep!"

* * *

 **To Rise Again**

* * *

Koutan wasn't anything special. If anything, he was average- well, maybe a bit below average. It's not like he was a weak shinobi who couldn't stand on his own two feet, but he was the only person from his graduating academy class to not make chunin thus far. The dirty blonde individual had messy hair and had black eyes. He wasn't ugly, he wasn't considered handsome either though. His little brother Kouji was the one who people expected greatness from.

After all, Kouji was a beast in Taijutsu…

But Koutan himself?

He was fine with being where he was but his parents weren't satisfied with him being an eternal genin. So his parents pulled some string to land him in the exam.

He mentally sighed, oh well, it would be nice to prove them wrong.

Koutan opened his eyes groggily, and tried to wipe his eyes to fix his vision. Though he tried, he found he couldn't even budge his arms even a fraction of an inch. Seems like he was tied sufficiently from moving… he tried wiggling out in hopes of loosening something but it was to no avail.

"Damn," Koutan muttered, "Looks like they know what they're doing… damn it! If only my idiot self didn't volunteer. But noooo! My pride as the oldest out of them all seriously backfired…" it was true, Koutan was about seventeen-years old on the verge of turning eighteen and he was partnered with two fifteen-year olds who still seemed like fresh-out-of-the-academy genins. He had been paired with them because they had their third member die due an unfortunate run in with a massive bandit camp.

Curse his luck!

He blinked several times.

"Wait a minute… is everything upside down?!"

Now that Koutan gained his bearings a bit, he realized that he was hanging from the ceiling by his feet. Was there any purpose for this method besides the rushing headache he was now getting? Seriously, the rush of blood seemed like it was gonna skull split his-

"Hiya! Nice to meet you Koutan-chan!"

Koutan felt extreme unease crawl up his spine.

"My name is Anko and I'll be taking care of you today! Lucky for you I've worked this department for several years!"

His normally tanned complex paled.

' _DAMN MY LUCK!'_

Kurenai swiftly walked over and knocked out the older shinobi with a quick neck chop.

Anko grinned and began maneuvering the male into a more suitable… _position_.

* * *

 **To Rise Again**

* * *

 **A/N: Okay, changes that has been made from Canon thus far:**

 **Tailed beasts, in their raw forms, could have their tails taken from them. This was done so the Kyuubi was more likely to help its jinchuuriki as pride and ego came into play. Tailed beasts would defeat one another and absorb the chakra and SOME power that the defeated tailed beast had.**

 **So, powers of the tailed beast CAN be shifted.**

 **Naruto has trained occasionally under the Kyuubi.**

 **This isn't really a change from canon but the second part of the exam is an information-extracting, search and rescue mission. Though it isn't necessary to rescue your final teammate alive, making it all the more intense. I came up with this part sort of, inspired by a lot so meh.**

* * *

 _ **A Grimm Tail:**_ **NarutoxRwby crossover. In a world consumed and overrun with darkness, one must always make a choice: to be the prey or the predator. Unfortunately, one doesn't always get to pick. Pairing: NaruXHarem, pairing undecided for some parts (Pyrrah is for sure in).**

 _ **The Guardian of Eden:**_ **A NarutoXHighschoolDxD crossover: She had seen his face for the briefest of seconds. Eyes as clear as the blue skies that reflected pain and sorrow deeper than the ocean. There was no mistake about it, if she didn't hurry to him, he would die. Pairing: NarutoXRias,Akeno,Gabriel. IsseiXAsia**


End file.
